"Your Highness, aren't you going to tell the princess the truth yet?"
Not missing the slightly reddened rims of Yun Xi's eyes before she left, Nightingale, as a woman, naturally guessed what was going on. She couldn't help but look at Qi Rong, who also wore a gloomy expression.
"It's not the right time yet."
Qi Rong frowned tightly, suppressing the urge to chase after her.
This had nothing to do with his trust in Yun Xi. Nightingale's identity was a deadly danger to her, and the fewer people who knew about it, the better.
Moreover, he was well aware of the Crown Prince's special feelings for Nightingale. Therefore, for all reasons, he had to ensure Nightingale's safety.
He had placed her in the Prince Xian's Mansion under the guise of a concubine to cover up her real identity.
Now that Nightingale had her own ideas and wanted to investigate the real mastermind behind the Crown Prince's assassination back then, Qi Rong didn't stop her and left her by Yun Xi's side.
"Your Highness, if you're worried about Nightingale's identity, you don't have to. Nightingale can tell that the princess is truly in love with you. She won't casually disclose the secret."
Although Nightingale knew that the current Prime Minister Yun Sheng was largely responsible for the Crown Prince's death, influenced and taught by the former Crown Prince, she was an extremely calm person.
She wouldn't transfer her hatred to Yun Xi just because of the father - daughter relationship between Yun Xi and Yun Sheng. On the contrary, after learning about Prince Xian's feelings for Yun Xi, she had carefully observed Yun Xi's character:
Yun Xi was pure and kind - hearted. Although she was a bit tough - talking on the outside but soft on the inside, she was a woman with true emotions.
During the time she had spent with Yun Xi, the latter hadn't deliberately made things difficult for her just because she was 'Prince Xian's woman'. Although her attitude was a bit awkward, she had been trying to treat her equally and had even genuinely cared about her.
This made Nightingale unconsciously feel a sense of closeness.
Hearing Nightingale's words, Qi Rong couldn't help but curl his lips, a hint of pride suddenly appearing on his face:
"She does like this king, but she's just too stubborn with her words. Sometimes, letting her experience this king's feelings might make her face her true heart more clearly."
Thinking about how she had repeatedly pushed him away and even got involved with Qi Yu, Qi Rong couldn't help but fly into a rage.
That little girl clearly knew his feelings for her, but after seeing Nightingale, she so easily 'gave him away'?
Where did this put his feelings? She was really asking for a good beating!
Even if he let her act wilfully, it would only be after they got married. He would never allow her to avoid him!
Seeing Qi Rong's sinister smile, Nightingale couldn't help but shiver.
She had often heard the Crown Prince talk about this seventh younger brother's childhood anecdotes. It seemed that after all these years, this master's temperament hadn't changed at all. He still liked to play tricks on others, and he wouldn't even spare the girl he liked. Truly terrifying!
Now, Miss Yun Xi was going to have a hard time...
After leaving the room, the two sat down at a stone table in the courtyard. Hong Luo looked at Yun Xi with a worried expression.
"Why are you looking at me like this?"
Yun Xi calmed her emotions and looked at Hong Luo with a smile. But Hong Luo held Yun Xi's hand and said:
"Miss, perhaps these words of mine shouldn't be said, but this servant thinks there might be a misunderstanding between you and the prince."
She had heard from Yu Zhu before that there seemed to be other women in the Prince Xian's Mansion. Among them, a woman named Wu Shuang was extremely despicable and had once publicly humiliated their miss. And Nightingale was another woman in the mansion.
She could tell that Miss had been in a low mood just now. As a woman, she could understand the pain in Miss's heart.
But looking at the way Prince Xian cared about Miss and Nightingale's attitude towards the prince, it all seemed a bit strange. Maybe things weren't as they had imagined...
"Hong Luo, you don't need to comfort me."
Realizing that her emotions had been so obvious that even Hong Luo was worried, Yun Xi suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.
There was a hint of desolation in her eyes, but she forced a smile and said self - deprecatingly:
"I know it's normal for a man to have multiple wives and concubines, especially since he's a prince. It's just that I'm too greedy."
What she wanted in her heart was the love of 'one man and one woman for a lifetime', and she couldn't tolerate even a speck of dust in her eyes.
But things didn't go as she wished. A powerful man like Qi Rong couldn't be satisfied with just her.
In the past, she had refused to admit her feelings for Qi Rong, as if only by doing so could she avoid getting hurt. But after so many twists and turns, she found that she had been deceiving herself all along. No matter how much she tried to escape, she still couldn't get away from Qi Rong's influence.
So, she temporarily gave up resisting.
However, she still couldn't accept the fact that there were other women around him for the time being.
"No, Miss." Hong Luo shook her head.
Love was a selfish thing. Having grown up in the harem since childhood, she was used to seeing the concubines in the palace competing for the emperor's favour. Some of them did it for power, while others did it for love. They would stop at nothing, but were all deeply trapped in it and couldn't be rational.
She thought that Miss was being too kind and indecisive by trying to take Nightingale's feelings into consideration while making things difficult for herself.
It was different from Miss's decisiveness when dealing with other matters, which made her feel anxious.
"This servant thought Nightingale seemed vaguely familiar before. Now this servant finally remembers."
Saying this, Hong Luo deliberately lowered her voice. After looking around and seeing no one, she whispered something in Yun Xi's ear.
At first, Yun Xi showed no expression on her face. But as she listened, her face became more and more shocked. Her expression became solemn, and her eyes were fixed on Hong Luo:
"Hong Luo, are you sure you didn't see it wrong back then?"
Hong Luo shook her head firmly:
"No. Although this servant was young back then, I had a very good memory."
As a palace maid, making a single mistake could cost her life, so she engraved every single thing in her heart and dared not forget.
"Back then, this servant accidentally broke a glass lamp in the Eastern Palace and was being beaten by the palace matron. If it weren't for Nightingale showing up, this servant's legs might have been broken."
She had served as a palace maid in the Eastern Palace for a while when she was a child. After being saved by Nightingale, she had remembered this benefactor. She had even inquired about her name from others and learned that she was the female bodyguard beside the Crown Prince.
But after that, she never saw Nightingale again. With the death of the former Crown Prince, the maids in the Eastern Palace were scattered everywhere, and she was sent to the laundry bureau.
Later, she had eventually become a water - fetching maid beside the queen.
"After all, it's been more than a decade. This servant wasn't sure at first, but later this servant secretly verified it. That person is indeed Nightingale!"
Over the past decade, although Nightingale no longer recognized her, she remembered clearly the red mole on Nightingale's wrist.
Hong Luo's words shocked Yun Xi.
If Nightingale had once been someone beside the former Crown Prince, then her existence would become a hidden danger for Qi Rong!
Maybe others didn't know about the events of that year, but in her previous life, she had accidentally overheard her father's secret conversation and knew how the current emperor Qi Hong had usurped the throne. Even though the former Crown Prince was dead, his potential forces still posed a threat to Qi Hong.
So, even after more than a decade, the emperor was still desperately hunting down the remnants of the former Crown Prince's faction.
Once the emperor found out about Nightingale's identity, it would surely stir up a huge storm!